Following the July amendments to provide greater flexibility to agencies in managing recruitment activity, further amendments to the Commissioner's Directions have been made to:

provide for any Australian Public Service (APS) employee to convert from ongoing to non-ongoing without undergoing a selection process

simplify the requirements for the engagement of a former APS employee who has accepted a redundancy benefit

further streamline content, including removing redundant or unnecessarily prescriptive directions, and

remove the requirement for agencies to obtain the agreement of the Australian Public Service Commissioner to the amount to be paid to an Senior Executive Service (SES) employee as an incentive to retire.

Engagement of ongoing employee as non-ongoing employee

Clause 2.14 of the Commissioner's Directions has been amended to extend to all APS employees, not only SES employees. This clause allows Agency Heads to engage ongoing employees as non-ongoing employees without undertaking a competitive selection process as specified in Part 2.1 of the Commissioner's
Directions, provided the following conditions are met:

the person is to be engaged for a specified term or a specified task; and

the person resigns their ongoing employment in order to be reengaged as a non-ongoing employee; and

the engagement is at the same or a lower classification.

One example of the application of this clause is to allow Agency Heads to support staff in accessing transition to retirement arrangements. Members of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) who have reached their preservation age may be able to access transition to retirement arrangements. These
arrangements are available to part-time non-ongoing employees, who cease to be a CSS contributing member.

Changing status from ongoing to non-ongoing employment is not an entitlement. Authority rests with Agency Heads to determine if the agency is able to accommodate such an arrangement.

The requirements for the engagement of non-ongoing employees under Regulations 3.4 and 3.5 of the Public Service Regulations 1999 describing limitations to specified term and specified task engagement will apply.

Restrictions on engaging a person who has received a redundancy benefit

Clause 7.1 of the Commissioner's Directions has been amended so that Agency Heads will no longer need to consult the Commissioner before:

extending a non-ongoing engagement, while that person is still within their redundancy benefit period. This is commonly referred to as a restriction period.

The requirement for an Agency Head to obtain the Commissioner's approval before engaging a person still within their restriction period as an ongoing employee or a non-ongoing SES employee remains in place.

In making a decision to engage a person within their restriction period, an Agency Head must consider the engagement to be essential, having due regard to his or her obligations to uphold the merit Employment Principles. This requires assessment of the person's work-related qualities and the duties
to be performed.

In addition to this amendment, Clause 7.1 has been rewritten in plainer language. There is no change to the calculation of the restriction period, or to the payments defined as a redundancy benefit.

Consequential amendments have also been made to subclauses 2.8(1)(g) and 4 to reflect the changes detailed above.

Termination of employment of non-ongoing APS employees

Clause 7.2 of the Commissioner's Directions, which sets out requirements related to the termination of non-ongoing employment, has been repealed as it has no practical effect. Agency Heads' obligations on termination of employment are contained in employment agreements, contracts and determinations
which continue to apply.

Incentive to retire—SES employee

Clause 7.3 of the Commissioner's Directions, which sets out requirements related to the offering of incentive to retire payments, has been repealed. Agency Heads are no longer required to seek the agreement of the Commissioner to the amount to be paid.

Agencies are expected to have regard to the Commissioner's policy on incentives to retire available on the Commission's website.

Further information

Information on the changes to the Commissioner's Directions and on this circular can be obtained from the Commission's Staffing Policy team on 02 6202 3857 or by email to staffingpolicy@apsc.gov.au.

Karin FisherGroup Manager, Employment PolicyAustralian Public Service Commission30 November 2015

Asset ID: #72388

About the Commission

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is a central agency within the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. The Commission supports two statutory office holders: the Australian Public Service Commissioner—who is also agency head—and the Merit Protection Commissioner. Their functions are set out in sections 41(1) and 50(1), respectively, of the Public Service Act 1999.